Campbell Soup has announced plans to close a 97-year-old plant in Georgia it inherited from Snyder’s-Lance.
The plant in Columbus, Ga., about 100 miles southwest of Atlanta, makes candy, crackers, cookies, bars and nuts, mostly under the Lance and Snyder’s brands. Campbell plans to phase out production of candy under the Lance brand, and will shift production of snacks across the rest of the snack division’s manufacturing network.
Closing the plant will be done in phases over the next 18 months. Its 326 employees will be offered severances and other help in finding new jobs. Founded in 1927, the plant became the oldest in Campbell’s possession when Campbell acquired Snyder’s-Lance in 2018.
“Closing one of our facilities is a very difficult decision,” Valerie Oswalt, president of Campbell Snacks, said in a statement. “The Columbus plant is the oldest in our manufacturing network, making it difficult to retrofit. Our Columbus team is talented and dedicated, and we are committed to assisting them through this transition.”
